Operation Author - Week 3

Week three of my project...

Operation Author - 365 actions to succeed as an author

...and I've already been creating some chatter in the writing community.  It really feels like I'm making progress.

So this is what I've done this week - I hope it gives you the motivation and inspiration to grab your creative career by the balls and do something to make things happen every day - no matter how small:

Day 1 - Sunday 19th January: I took to Twitter and started following lots of writers.

I discovered how to use 'Lists' and categorised all the people I follow.  It took hours but was worth it.  I now add new people I follow to the relevant list as I go along.

Here's how they work: http://bit.ly/1hVV6wl

With Lists you can filter your feed by topic.  The more people you follow the more this comes into its own, as your main feed will fill up with hundreds of new tweets every second and can quickly be overwhelming.

This way, you can just click through your lists and find relevant tweets.

Build it into your routine to look at one list a day to avoid being swamped.

I'm no Twitter expert by I'm learning a lot about its potential.

I sent personal tweets of my tips from last week to writers and got lots of attention and new followers.

I am also following back pretty much everyone who follows me and only categorising those that are relevant in my lists.  This way, my stats and influence increase and people who may otherwise not see me will start to notice and follow me.

Day 2 - I subscribed to Klout. This tool helps you to measure your influence on Social Media.  Connect your accounts and start looking at your stats.

My Klout Score has been steadily going up this week from 40 at the start of the weekend, to 47 at the end, and now it's 53

Above are my notifications, below is what that means...

...I'm getting closer to the top 5% of users and I'm pretty pleased with that!

Day 3 - I discovered Author Directory and added a listing that has since been approved: http://bit.ly/1gc3dHC

Day 4 - I submitted a guest blog to Make Something 365  - When it's published I'll share the link

Day 5 -  I've been invited to write a guest post for Sky Light Train  - When it's published I'll share the link

Day 6 - I downloaded this 
http://bestsellerlabs.com/the-bestseller-labs-guide-for-authors/ which I hope will generate some ideas and keep me motivated.

Day 7 - I've been offered an interview by Viv at Audio Byte.

Here's the recent article about her in the Sunday Telegraph: http://bit.ly/1e48JZH

The interview is set up for tomorrow over Skype.  I'm really excited and flattered to be asked.

The interview is on the back of the article I wrote on Pinterest for
Socialmedia4writers: http://bit.ly/1dE3P6X

Wish my luck!

Would you recommend anyone I should connect with?

Operation Author - week 2

I've reached the end of week two on:

 

Operation Author - 365 actions to succeed as an author

On my log for this week I've been pitching for guest blogs and making new connections. 

Here's what I've up to:

Day 1 - Sunday 12th January - I sent a proposal to Your Cat magazine (http://www.yourcat.co.uk/) for an idea I had for an article about the perils of owning and elderly cat.  I've already written the piece and I think I'll try sending it on spec next week as I've not heard from them.  I'll buy the physical magazine first and make sure I'm following their submission guidelines.  I won a 'star letter' prize from them  about 18 months ago, which is why I chose them, plus, obviously, I love cats!

Day 2 - wrote a review for a book I used to research Solomon’s Secrets http://amymorse.co.uk/Docs/Solomon%20Preview.pdf 

The book was: Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession by Craig Childs (http://www.houseofrain.com/)

Day 3 - Submitted The Bronze Box to Book Muse (http://www.bookmuse.co.uk/) for review – It has been accepted by a reviewer from Words With Jam (http://www.wordswithjam.co.uk)

Day 4 - added images to Amazon and followed up the free offer with a special offer bargain of 77p for the eBook. 'sold' 248 eBooks to date as a result of the promotions.

(meet Sasha Blake - the heroin of The Bronze Box and Solomon's Secrets)

Day 5 – I went to a Social Media Cafe https://twitter.com/BristolCafe at a really cool cafe bar, The Birdcage, In Bristol (http://www.birdcagebristol.com/) and met some really interesting folks.  One was from Bristol University and has given me contact details from someone in the Archaeology department so I can set up an event

Day 6 – I sent a proposal to guest blog on Socialmedia4writers - It has since been published: http://bit.ly/1dE3P6X

Day 7 –I've sent 2 more guest posts to Prowess 2.0 business magazine.  My first article for them was one of their most popular http://www.prowess.org.uk/Pinterest-market-research

Whenever I mention anyone on this blog, I've been finding and following them on Social Media so that I can share links to increase my audience

What do you think I should follow up next?

Operation Author - Week 1

I've reached the end of my first week on my next 365 project

 

Operation Author - 365 actions to succeed as an author

I've been diligently keeping a log of what I do, partly so I can share it with you all, but also to monitor what's working.

 

So far I have:

Day 1, Saturday 4th January - I wrote a blog post reflecting on my previous project and announcing that I was starting this project 

Day 2 - I offered my book, The Bronze Box, free on Kindle for 3 days and promoted it through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and my blog 

Day 3 - I beefed up my Linked In Profile, adding links to articles and publications 

Day 4 - My book has reached number 15 in the Amazon adventure charts - publicised this milestone through my networks and asked people to write reviews in exchange for a free book 

Day 5 – I sent a proposal to Prowess 2.0 for a couple of blog posts

Day 6 – I wrote a blog post and sent it off to prowess

Day 7 – I got organised and set up a file for the project where I can collect ideas, images etc

Whenever I can squeeze in some time, I've been writing  passages of my next book Solomon's Secrets 

What actions have helped you to raise your profile?